"[The crowd is] the only thing I don’t like about Quidditch."
-- Royston Idlewind (and a reason why Quidditch World Cup fans don't like him) (QWC)
Royston Idlewind was a Chaser on the Australian National Team in 1966. In 1971, after his retirement from competitive sport, he became International Director of the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee (ICWQC) (QWC).
Idlewind was a member of the Austrialian team that won the 1966 Quidditch World Cup. An unpopular appointment as International Director of the ICWQC in 1971, he legislated strict crowd control rules and put in place a wand ban during Quidditch matches. The fan unrest over this came to a head at the Quidditch World Cup in 1974, when spectators brought wands disguised as noisy musical instruments to a packed Syria–Madagascar final match in defiance of his rules. After he was razzed by a stadium of wizards carrying these Dissimulator wands, Idlewind resigned (QWC).
Other canon notes and references
When interviewed by the Daily Prophet after the chaos following the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, Idlewind said that
"....a wand ban doesn’t look so stupid now, does it?" (QWC)
Commentary
Etymology
Royston may come from Royston in Hertfordshire (from Old French croiz "cross" and the Germanic name Royse, therefore "Royse's cross" or "Royse's stone"); or from Royston in West Yorkshire (Domesday Book "Rorestun" meaning "Hror's settlement") (Internet Surname Database). There is also a place called Royston Island in South Australia (Wikipedia).
Idlewind is a combination of idle meaning "not working, not active, without purpose" and wind meaning "moving air" (Oxford English Dictionary).
From the Web
Writing by J K Rowling on WizardingWorld (Pottermore):
Writing by J K Rowling on Imgur (Daily Prophet coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, originally from Pottermore):
- History of the Quidditch World Cup
- Quidditch World Cup 1990-2014
- Match reports and articles from the 2014 Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter Wiki: Royston Idlewind
Pensieve (Comments)
Tags: athletes banned competitions/competitors fake international leaders music noise rules sports tournament wands